Minkah Fitzpatrick shares how Jeremy Pruitt settled in at Alabama

Saban was congenial and spoke glowingly about the "outstanding" 11 years he's spent in Tuscaloosa.

"We're always trying to self-assess to see what we need to do to get better", Saban said, a chilling thought.

"When you lose the mind-set is much more, I'm willing to change", Saban said Wednesday at the SEC media days. When you do both, that's when you got something special.

None of this, of course, jibes with Saban's own views.

The Crimson Tide admit their failures and talk about them openly, despite the fact that they don't have very many of them.

Tide coach Nick Saban launched his appearance Wednesday with a crack that probably turned the stomachs of his fellow coaches. "It was a bit of a shock to me". The ACC is arguably the best conference when it comes to head coaches as well. "Some of the things we would have flagged a player immediately".

Saban said coaches are going to have to be cautious in an intense game. When he decided to leave the NFL he says he was fortunate to find an opportunity at Alabama. They haven't come close to SEC supremacy since Alabama beat them in the 2009 SEC title game, made then-Florida QB Tim Tebow cry and hustled coach Urban Meyer into (a short-lived) retirement in the process. He also proudly reminded everyone the SEC won six national titles in 2016-17.

And that's why the achievement of reaching the national title game was erased when Clemson's Hunter Renfro caught that 2-yard TD pass from Watson.

That seems natural because the head coach approaches his job with a chip on his shoulder every day of his life. Lee held a poster encouraging the veteran coach to run for President in 2020.

"I don't know that it's pressure".

Hamilton was known as one of Alabama's defensive leaders last season, racking up 64 total tackles before suffering a torn ACL in his left knee just after halftime in the SEC Championship game last December. And I think there was a lot of time and circumstance involved in me coming to Alabama. "We're definitely using the motivation and not letting little things slide towards the end of the season".

Maybe now you can begin to understand what makes this 65-year-old tick. The SEC East, which hasn't won the conference since 2008, has become Sabanized, and it's done nothing to chip away at the crimson dynasty on the other side of the conference.

Next up on Tuesday will be Georgia, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Florida.

The three-time defending Southeastern Conference champion Crimson Tide fell on a last-second touchdown to the Tigers. "Every person has to way the advantages and disadvantages".

Name SearchWatch Service' Bradley Bozeman put it: "We try to do things that other people don't want to do, can't do". If we feel like he can play winning football, I think it's going to be important for us to allow him to do that; so, if he gets in a situation that he needs to play, he's going to be able to play winning football for us. Malzahn was offensive coordinator for Auburn's 2010 win over Alabama in the infamous Kick-6 game.

"If Alabama plays to its potential like they have, then they're unbeatable", he says.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey unveiled the "it just means more" slogan a year ago. "There is no time to rest".

Now, and Saban is big on the present tense, it must be the foundation for taking the final step in a new season.

Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster and Alabama's quarterback competition. There's a realistic chance the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium will open with a No. 1 vs. No. 2 "Game of the Century" on Sept. 2. Saban coached Toledo for a year and jumped to the NFL's Cleveland Browns, where he worked for Bill Belichick from 1991-94.